Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method comprising: receiving a communication at a primary computer node from a client, the primary computer node having a first user space and a first system space, the first user space containing an executable file of a transactional application which provides services to the client, and the first system space having a first operating system which manages system resources of the primary computer node; first executing a first process of the executable file, the first process including a first call to a first function outside of the executable file; second executing a modified function outside of the executable file in response to the first call, the modified function including the first function and a second call to a recording function outside of the executable file; detecting the second call at a secondary computer node, different from the primary computer node and the client, the secondary computer node having a second user space and a second system space, the second user space containing a logging module of an intermediate application which includes the recording function, and the second system space having a second operating system which manages system resources of the secondary computer node; and third executing the recording function at the secondary computer node to store logged data at the secondary computer node, the logged data representing execution of the first process.
A method for non-intrusively logging events in an application. A primary computer receives communication from a client and runs a transactional application. The application calls a function. Instead of the original function, a modified function is executed which calls both the original function and a separate recording function. This recording function call is detected by a secondary computer, different from the client and primary computer. The secondary computer then executes the recording function to store log data about the first application's process, without impacting the primary application's execution. The primary computer has its own user and system spaces, as does the secondary computer. The logging module resides on the secondary computer.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first call accesses a state of one of the system resources of the primary computer node.
The method from the previous description, where the initial function call in the application accesses the state of system resources on the primary computer. This means the logging mechanism can capture information about the primary computer's CPU usage, memory allocation, or network activity related to the client's request, allowing for resource usage monitoring without directly modifying the transactional application's core logic. The recording function will then log data reflecting the resource state.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the logged data includes an event internal to the system resources of the primary computer node.
The method from the first description, where the logged data includes events internal to the system resources of the primary computer node. This refers to capturing details about the operating system or hardware behavior, like file system operations, memory access patterns, or inter-process communication, which are relevant to understanding the application's behavior and performance at a low level, and providing insight into internal operations of the system resources without modifying application code.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said detecting includes sending a logging message which includes the logged data from a first messaging agent in the first system space controlled by a first logging control process in the first user space to a second messaging agent in the second system space controlled by a second logging control process in the second user space.
The method from the first description includes a logging message sent from a messaging agent in the primary computer's system space (controlled by a logging process in its user space) to another messaging agent in the secondary computer's system space (controlled by a logging process in its user space). This means that the primary and secondary computers communicate via message queues to send the logged data, and also implies that the logging doesn't interfere with the primary application's performance.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: detecting an operational failure at the primary computer node; in response to said detecting, executing a restart process at the secondary computer node using the logged data.
The method described in the first claim further includes detecting an operational failure at the primary computer and, in response, executing a restart process on the secondary computer using the logged data. This enables the secondary computer to act as a recovery system. Because the logging data contains details of the original execution on the primary computer, the secondary system can reconstruct or restore the operation on the primary computer and/or provide a fail-over operation.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the primary computer node uses a first network device to communicate with the client over a first network, and uses a second network device to communicate with the secondary computer node over a second network.
The method described in the first claim involves the primary computer communicating with the client via a first network and communicating with the secondary computer via a separate second network. This can isolate network traffic between the client and the logging system, improving performance and security. The separation also provides dedicated bandwidth for logging data transmission, minimizing any potential performance impact on the primary application's client communication.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the modified function is contained in a library file having a plurality of library functions, the first function being one of the library functions.
The method described in the first claim utilizes a modified function that is located within a library file containing multiple library functions, where the original function that was called is one of these library functions. Instead of directly altering the main application executable, the modification happens at the library level. The logging code can be injected into the original library and the original library function's operation can be preserved by calling it from the modified function.
8. A computer system comprising: a primary computer node having a first user space and a first system space, the first user space containing an executable file of a transactional application which provides services to a client, the executable file including a first process including a first call to a first function outside of the executable file, wherein a modified function is executed in response to the first call, the modified function including the first function and a second call to a recording function outside of the executable file, and the first system space having a first operating system which manages system resources of said primary computer node; and a secondary computer node, different from said primary computer node and the client, having a second user space and a second system space, the second user space containing a logging module of an intermediate application which includes the recording function, the recording function including a second process executed in response to the second call, the second process storing logged data at said secondary computer node, the logged data representing execution of the first process, and the second system space having a second operating system which manages system resources of said secondary computer node.
A computer system logs application events non-intrusively. It includes a primary computer providing services to a client, and a secondary computer used for logging. When the application on the primary computer calls a function, a modified function is executed instead, which calls both the original function and a recording function. The recording function is executed on the secondary computer to store log data about the primary application's process. The system allows for transparent logging, and separation of concerns between the application and logging. Both the primary and secondary computers have user and system spaces, with the logging module of an intermediate application residing in the secondary computer's user space.
9. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the first call accesses a state of one of the system resources of said primary computer node.
The computer system from the previous description, where the initial function call in the application accesses the state of system resources on the primary computer. This implies that the logging mechanism monitors resources such as memory or CPU usage. The primary function executes on the primary computer, and the logging module on the secondary computer records the resource information.
10. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the logged data includes an event internal to the system resources of said primary computer node.
The computer system from the previous description, where the logged data includes events internal to the system resources of the primary computer. This means that the log data records operating system or hardware-level events on the primary computer. The events might include file system operations or memory management activities. The logging module on the secondary computer records those system events to improve application debugging and troubleshooting.
11. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the first system space includes a first messaging agent controlled by a first logging control process in the first system space which sends a logging message including the logged data to a second messaging agent in the second system space controlled by a second logging control process in the second user space.
This invention relates to a computer system with multiple system spaces, each containing a messaging agent controlled by a logging control process. The system addresses the challenge of securely and efficiently transferring logged data between isolated system spaces. Each system space includes a messaging agent that sends logging messages containing logged data to a corresponding messaging agent in another system space. The first system space has a first messaging agent controlled by a first logging control process, which sends a logging message with the logged data to a second messaging agent in the second system space. The second messaging agent is controlled by a second logging control process in the second system space. This setup ensures that logged data is transmitted between system spaces in a controlled and secure manner, maintaining isolation while enabling data exchange. The logging control processes manage the messaging agents to facilitate the transfer of logged data across system boundaries, ensuring proper handling and processing of the data in each system space. This approach improves system security and data integrity by enforcing controlled communication between isolated system spaces.
12. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the intermediate application detects an operational failure at said primary computer node, and responsively executes a restart process at said secondary computer node using the logged data.
In the computer system described earlier, the secondary computer detects an operational failure at the primary computer and, in response, executes a restart process at the secondary computer, utilizing the logged data. The intermediate application in the secondary computer has failure detection capability. The stored data can be used for failure diagnosis and recovery.
13. The computer system of claim 8 wherein said primary computer node uses a first network device to communicate with the client over a first network, and uses a second network device to communicate with said secondary computer node over a second network.
The computer system described in the previous claim uses a first network for the primary computer to communicate with the client, and a second, separate network for communication between the primary and secondary computers. This isolates client traffic from logging traffic, improving performance and security. The network isolation helps to avoid impacting the primary application's client communication performance.
14. The computer system of claim 8 wherein the modified function is contained in a library file having a plurality of library functions, the first function being one of the library functions.
The computer system from the description above uses a modified function contained within a library file. This library file holds multiple library functions, and the original function that was initially called is one of those library functions. Instead of altering the original application binary, a library patch modifies the desired function. The patched library preserves the operation of the original library function.
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December 2, 2014
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